Printer&#39;s quoin



Patented Oct. 16, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PRINTERS QUOIN Application July 18, 1949, Serial No. 105,282

6 Claims. (01. 254-42) This invention relates to aprinters quoin, a primary object and purpose of which is a special economy in manufacture, while at the same time the quoin when assembled remains assembled as a unit, and when about to be used does not have to have its parts selected and properly placed each time that it is used. Additionally, the quoin of the present invention expands by a direct expanding movement at right angles to its length, and there is eliminated the sliding of one member against the form and the other against the chase in which the form is located and the movementof the form is directly at right angles to the side of the chase, and there is no tendency through friction between the quoin and the parts it bearsagain'stto become displaced.

In the present. invention, thequoin' consists essentially of three parts; one, a relatively elongated part to bear against a form, another part generally parallelthereto to bear against the chase, the two 'qu'oin parts or members being with their outer surfaces parallel to each other and located alongside each other. Between'them, a movable wedge member'is located'and' may be operated to move in the direction of the length of the quoin, either way, for spreading or expanding the quoin members'or releasing them, said wedge member and quoin members'having cooperating inclined or wedges'ides so that the lateral separation of the two quoin members occurs equally from one end to the other of the quoin. The

wedge is operated by quoin key which is or may be identical with the key used with other types of quoins, as for example, the well known and popular number one Hemple quoins. Thus printers having quoins of both types on hand may operate either with the same key.

With our invention the quoin may be made from malleable iron and with sufi'lcient tolerances between the various parts thereof that the cost of machining and assembling are greatly reduced and the overall cost of the quoin'compared to previous quoins. made of steel, all parts of which are machined, may be reduced to substantially one third of such steel quoins.

The quoin members which lie alongside'of each other and which An understanding of the invention may be had from the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which,

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the quoin.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal horizontal section therethrough substantially on the plane of line 2-2 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 3 is an end elevation, and

Fig. 4 is a transverse vertical section substantially on the plane of line 44 of Fig. 1.

Like reference characters refer to like parts in the different figures of the drawing.

In the structure of the quoin as disclosed in the drawing, one member I of the quoin has a flat outside surface and at its inner side between its ends is provided with a consecutive series of transverse rack teeth 2, said member at its inner side beyond the rack teeth and at the ends of the rack teeth themselves ying in a plane. indicated at 3, which is incl ned at an acute angle to the flat outer side of the quoin. At each end the quoin is provided'with an integral post 4 which extends inwardly beyond the inner inclined side 3. Each post is formed with an opening or recess 5, from the outer side of the quoin toward but short of the inner end of the post in which the head and a part of the shank of a screw 6 is located, the shank of the screw extending through the post at its inner end. A coiled compression spring I of a considerable strength is located around each screw between its head and the bottom of the opening or recess 5.

The other and generally parallel member 8 of the quoin has threaded openings adjacent its ends into which the threaded ends of the shanks of screw 6 are received. The quoin member 8 at its outer side is flat and parallel to the outer side of the first member I. At each end at its inner side it is recessed leaving side guides 9 between which the free ends of the posts 4 are received. Such member 8 also at'its inner side is longitudinally grooved between the post receivin recesses, the groove being indicated at l0, leaving two side ribs II the edges of which likewise are located in planes inclined to the plane of the outer side of the member'B. The inclined inner sides l2 of the ribs I l and the inclined inner side 3 of the quoin member I converge toward each other toward one end and diverge from each other toward the other end.

The operating wedge member between the quoin members, generally indicated at [3, is slotted at each end so that the posts 4 may be embraced when such member is moved to its extreme positions of movement. Such wedge member at its opposite sides has inclined sides I4 and I5 respectively to bear against the inclined sides 3 and inclined edges I2 of the ribs II. It is apparent that when such member is moved bodily lengthwise of the quoin in the direction of the convergence of the inclined sides or surfaces 3 and I2, the quoin members are bodily separated or expanded in a direction at right angles to their length.

Between the slotted end portions of the operating wedge member I3 the middle section I6 of such member is provided with a guide rib I6a which enters the groove III between the ribs II. Such middle section I6 is also formed with a relatively large transverse opening H in the side thereof next adjacent the inner inclined side 3 of the quoin member I and the rack teeth thereon. An operating key having a shank I8 with a plurality of radially projecting cooperating teeth to engage the rack teeth 2 is insertable into the opening I! to engage with the rack teeth. At its outer end the key is provided with a handle for turning it about its longitudinal axis, it being apparent that on turning the key clockwise (Fig. 2) the key will traverse the rack and force the wedging member to the right, thereby bodily separating the quoin members I and 8 and compressing the spring 'I in such separation. On turning in the opposite direction the springs I will collapse the quoin from any position to which it has been expanded as the separating or wedging member is moved in the opposite direction.

The quoin placed between the side of the form and the side of a chase is quickly and easily key operated for its expansion to lock the form in the chase at the place where the quoin is located. As many of such quoins as may be required are used in locking the form. The direct expansion of the quoin in a direction at right angles to its length eliminates all sliding movement which would develop friction between the quoin members and either the form or the chase. The quoin remains assembled with its parts inseparably connected together at all times except where such parts are designedly separated by removing the screws 6. It is evident that the assembly is very quickly and easily accomplished by locating the separating or edging member against the quoin member I and thereupon inserting the screws 6, each with a spring I around its shank, into the openings 5 and screw connecting them to the ends of the other quoin member 8. The tolerances which mav be provided between the posts 4 and the guides 9 at its sides and between the rib ISa and the guide ribs II at the sides thereof may be ample so that machining is substantially restricted to the outer sides of the quoin members, the inner inclined side 3 of the member I and the inner inclined longitudinal edges I2 of the ribs I I, while that on the operating wedge member will be restricted so far as machining is concerned to its opposite sides I4 and I5.

The quoin structure described is very practical and useful and is especially desirable because of its economy in production and its direct lateral expansion, together with its inseparable assembly and its operation by use of the same keys which are used for other printers quoins now largely in use.

The invention is defined in the appended claims and is to be considered comprehensive of all forms of structure coming within their scope. I

We claim:

1. In a printers quoin, an elongated quoin member having a flat outer side and an inner side disposed at an acute angle to its outer side, said quoin member for a portion of its length between its ends at its inner side having a plurality of consecutive transverse rack teeth, a separating quoin expanding member located against the inner side of said quoin member and having an inclined side to ride against the inclined side thereof, and having a transverse opening therethrough between its ends open at the side thereof adjacent said rack teeth, a key having a spindle with a plurality of radially projecting spaced teeth to engage and cooperate with said rack teeth for moving said separating member back and forth lengthwise of the quoin member, and a second quoin member between which and the first quoin member said separating member is located having an outer flat side substantially parallel to the outer flat side of the first quoin member and an inner side inclined at an acute angle to the outer flat side of said second quoin member, said inclined inner sides of the quoin members converging toward one end of said quoin and diverging toward the other end thereof, and said separating member having a second side riding against the inclined inner side of the second quoin member for expanding said quoin members in a direction perpendicular to their length on key actuated movement of the separating member in the direction of the converging ends of the inclined sides of said quoin members.

2. A structure as defined in claim 1, said second quoin member at the inner side thereof having a longitudinal groove and said separating member having a rib extending into said groove and movable lengthwise thereof.

3. A structure as defined in claim 1, said second quoin member at each end having a recess between the sides thereof and said first quoin member at each end having a post, the free ends of which extend into said recesses.

4. A structure as defined in claim 3, each of said posts having a longitudinal opening from the outer side of the first quoin member extending into toward but short of the free end of each post, a screw having a head located in each of said openings and extending beyond the free ends of its associated post, said screws having a screw connection with the second quoin member at the ends thereof, and coiled compression springs one around each screw between the head thereof and the inner end of the recess in which located.

5. A printer's quoin comprising, two elongated quoin members located side by side, having parallel outer sides and inclined inner sides, closer together at one end than at the other end, and diverging from each other from said first mentioned end to the other end, a wedging member between the quoin members having sides converging toward said first mentioned end of the quoin members riding against the inclined sides of said quoin members, one of said quoin members at each end thereof having headed screws connected thereto at the screw threaded ends, of said screws, said headed screws extending generally at right angles from the quoin member to springs, one around each shank of each screw within said openings, bearing at one end against the heads of the screws and at opposite ends against the inner ends of said openings, combined with means for longitudinally moving said wedging member lengthwise of and between said quoin members.

6. A printers quoin comprising, two elongated quoin members located in generally parallel relation and having flat generally parallel outer sides, springs housed, one at each end of one of said quoin members, a member connected at each end of the other quoin member extending therefrom into the adjacent ends of said spring carrying quoin member, and operatively associated with the springs to normally move the quoin members toward each other, said springs being yieldable to permit bodily separation of the quoin members from each other, and manually operable means between the quoin members for bodily separating them when said manually operable means is operated in one direction, said means when operated in the opposite direction freeing the quoin members for movement toward each other by said springs.

JAMES EDGAR LEE.

FREEMAN BARNEY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,953,688 Zim Apr. 3, 1934 1,953,691 Scott et al Apr. 3, 1934 

